Just for the fun of it...

Play along….what have you done? Things I’ve done are in BOLD.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful Geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

What were you thankful for?

My son, in a very sweet and tender moment told me this:

"Mama, I like Thanksgiving because I can tell you how good I feel and how good I like you and Daddy."

I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

We are back from our travels and I'm getting ready to put up our Christmas decorations tomorrow! YAY!

I also have a fun post that I stole from my good friend Paisley Penguin that I will put up in a few.

Good tidings to all!

DH caved...I saw Twilight at 12:01 am!

My sweet hubby said he didn't mind if I went to the movie without him. And I must say I was shocked to see the diversity in the room. We had age ranges from about 9 to over 50! It was a fantastic mix. I sat next to a lady with her 14 year old son. She had read the books, he had not. It was a fun crowd.

As for the movie. Without giving away the book for any who haven't read it...are there any of you out there? I was disappointed. The movie did not do it for me.

I was really hoping they would capture all the greatness from the book. Similar to Harry Potter. I really admire J.K. Rowlings insistance that the movies not divert from the path of the book even more now! I don't think the screen writer did a very good job of encompassing the thoughts in Bella's head without actually having her say them. I don't think they did a good job at portraying the connection between Bella and Edward. I think they spent too much energy trying to make the movie contemporary enough to resonate with the kids in school today but they did it in a way that didn't make sense for the town of Forks. I was disappointed in the times that laughter broke out in the theater when it shouldn't have. They made very serious scenes humourus without need. I just didn't like it much at all! I didn't like the casting much either. I didn't feel the connections of the actors to the characters. With the exception of Emmett. I thought he was cast perfectly. I thought Bella was too confrontational and Edward was just plain wrong. They didn't dress him like was mentioned in the book, he always seemed to have a dorky, confused look on his face and he just wasn't that sexy!. Other small things too, like the Cullen house, the flying in the trees, and the eating dinner at the diner every night. I thought Bella enjoyed cooking for her father like a release of sorts. I was just disappointed. (Sigh)

Would I see it again? Absolutely not in the theater. I will probably rent it when it comes out just to see if my mind is changed at all after rereading the books.

If you haven't read the book, DON'T see the movie first. You will definitely regret it.

Attention Twilight Fans!

The movie opens TONIGHT at 12:00am!! I'm so excited that I can't even tell you! I'm working on convincing my DH that I NEED to go see it when it opens. He thinks I'm crazy! I think I'm going to win. hehe.

Also, I found a really great bit of info and I would like to share it. Did you know that there was to be a fifth book! Well there was and it's called Midnight Sun. It' a retell of Twilight from Edward's perspective. Unfortunately someone leaked while the authour was still writing it. You can read all about what happened here. You can also download the pdf here of what she has so far and read it at your leisure! I'm so sad that someone would do this to her. We may never read the final draft as she said she is too sad about the situation to contiune working on the book. Stupid, STUPID people!!

Anyway, if you haven't read it already, go check it out. I'm 115 pages in of the 264 available to us. I HOPE she decides to finish it. I absolutely LOVE these characters. I have never been this obsessed about a series. I can't get enough!

Vote for your favorite...

I wanted to see what the favorite upcoming holiday is amongst my small readership. If you would be so kind as to humor me and my very first blog poll, I would greatly appreciate it.

Enter your vote. There might be a giveaway in the future....

Books are my weakness.

I was visiting with my friend and neighbor the other day and she was telling me about this book she had read and couldn't put down. We usually have similar taste in books, so I was listening attentatively. I'm always up for recommendations.

She let me borrow it and about 20 pages in I was completely hooked! I could not put this book down! I read it in less than 24 hours time of which 8 I was sleeping, 3 I was at preschool and several others I was othewise occupied with daily life. If I would have read it without stopping I would venture to say it would have taken about 5 hours. I typically read about 100 pages per hour when left to my own devices.



If you are wondering....it's Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I know, it's a tennybopper book, but it's surprisingly great! I just finished New Moon today which is the second of the series of 4. This woman sure knows how to keep your interest. I'm hopefully getting and starting the third book tonight, Eclipse.

How about you all, what are you reading?

What's up with you?

This has been a hectic month so far for us! We were notified at the first of the month that DH would be laid off until "at least" the beginning of the year thus landing us in the 'unemployed-kindof' category. Thank goodness that we have some what of a savings or we would be doomed. Our mortgage is $1685 and our unemployment benefit is only a bit more than $1800. That doesn't leave much wiggle room...who am I kidding? That doesn't leave room for anything considering that we would be left with electricity, water, sewer, garbage, heating oil, and not to mention food and our budget for all of these things would be a whole whoppin $187! So, if you are so inclined to think happy thoughts, pray, or even just wish us well we would greatly appreciate all the positive energy we could get.

I've been keeping really positive though and we haven't had to dip into savings yet this month. I know we are only into the first 11 days, but still...it could be worse.

I interviewed for a part time evening job last week and it went well. I should know more the end of this week. It would be cleaning office buildings and would work well for our schedule even when DH goes back to work.

I'm SUPER DUPER happy that I'm an early Christmas shopper and I am all but done with all of our gift "buying". I do have some home made items to finish off, but that won't be a problem. I'm faithful that we will be fine. Everything will work out.

How are things going with all of you?

I got to be a teacher today!!

My son's preschool teacher is out of state visiting her son and his family. Because we attend a co-op preschool this does not mean that school is closed. Oh no, this means that we mommies and daddies get to tackle the enoumous job of being the "one in charge". I got to play teacher today! It was fun! I took attendance, I put together circle time, I got to sing the goodbye song and I even got to be in charge of taking the bucket of balls outside for outside play time. But the very best part of the day was when I was helping little Joshie* take off his name tag and he gave me a kiss on the cheek! I felt so special as Joshie is not my son. It was soo sweet.

The only bad part of the day was when it was over. I always wanted to work with kids but when college time came, there wasn't any money and I exhausted my financial aid. I know I could go back, but right now there isn't any money either. My plan is to take courses and become a paraprofessional when my son starts "real school". But working as the teacher today reminded me what I've missed out on.

*names were changed to protect privacy.

Make it yourself Monday...Cosmopolitan!

In honor of a tiring day yesterday and a loooong day ahead today, I thought many might enjoy a lovely little coctail!

Behold....the Cosmopolitan!

This little lovely is a favorite of mine. Hopefully you will enjoy it as well.

1 ounce Vodka
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1/2 ounce Lime Juice
1/2 ounce Cranberry Juice

Shake vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice vigorously in a shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with a lime wedge on the rim, and serve.

Enjoy! Go...make it yourself!

My four year old voted...did you?

This morning I was watching the Today show and my son; who was playing with puzzles on the floor, proudly announces that he's decided he's going to vote.

Here's the conversation.

DS: Momma, I'm going to vote!
Me: Really?
DS: Yes, one time.
Me: Ok.
DS: I'm going to vote for summer, because I like to play in the swimming pool!
Me: (laughing) If only it were that easy honey.

Then he went back to putting his puzzle together.

I think I'll vote for summer too!

Well, I'm off to get my free Starbucks! YUUUM!